Modern Animal: Springbok Trotsbok (Antidorcas Glorior)
Trotsbok, or Antidorcas Glorior (in latin), is a possible future animal that evolves from Springbok. The word Trots is
Afrikaans, meaning proud, while bok means antelope or goat.
Image from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/PangeaUltimaRoughEstimation.jpg/680px-PangeaUltimaRoughEstimation.jpg
Habitat In around 250 million years later, planet Earth will have change into a very different place to the ones we know, as all the continents drifts back together and form one big landmass, known as the Pangaea Ultima. And due to global warming and the deforestation caused by humans in the past, it leads to something like desertification in what used to be Africa, but instead of it being desert, it turns into dry plain, where only 20% left of the remaining Africa are forest, and the rest of them have turn into dry plains.
Troksbok prefers lives in a habitat similar to its ancestor Springbok, but the area distribution has changed from Springbok to Troksbok , where Troksbok are able to spread further and further as what used to be Africa has now turn into a dry plain, to find food as they continue to spread. And the temperture of the whole world has increased by 5 degrees, which would not be a big problem for Trotsbok as they only have a thin coat of short fur.
Trotsbok Habitat. image from : http://www.wilton.k12.ct.us/whs/lib/student_work/Final%20Folder/Fossil%20Locations_files/image009.jpg
Just like its ancestor Springbok, Trotsbok perfers to live at places with short grass and dry open land where it allows them to spot predators in long distances and move around and run away easily, which is why Short grass savannah, dry river beds and other similar places are where the Trotsbok prefers to live. Not that there is alot, but most Trotsbok avoids long grass, since it disable their abilities to see predators from a distance and slow down their ability to run fast. But like its ancestors, the female Trotsbok hides the first few days of newborns in long grass to avoid predators.
Just as springbok has evolved into Troksbok , its predictors have too. The predictors might be animals evolve from lion, leopard and others. And since Africa has turn into a large plain, it gives advantage to both Troksbok and its predictors, as Troksbok will be able to spot predictors from far and run away quickly before it can catch up, and predictors runs faster than Troksbok in short distance would be able to run as fast as it can without bumping into something.
Adaptations Behavioural
Pronking (Behavioural 1) Just like its ancestor, springbok, Trotsbok are also known for its jump that’s similar to its ancestor. But Trotsbok’s Pronk is different from Springbok’s, as springbok has its head down when it pronks, while Trotsbok has its head up high as it pronks. And unlike springbok, when Trotsbok pronks, its hooves doesn’t comes together, but instead, it does an action like galloping of a horse. For its head up and galloping action during its pronk, Trotsbok was named with the word Trots meaning proud, as it seems proud as it pronks. Trotsbok uses its pronks just like Springbok, to warn its herd when it spots an predictor, which then, the whole herd runs together, or to attract a mate.
Environment Pressure
An environmental pressure that might have caused this behavioural adaptions is the habitat and the predictors, as keeping the head up as it pronks, the Trotsbok can see and keep an eye on where its predictors has gone, and the galloping action helps to frighten its predictors away.
Breeding (Behavioural 2)
With shorter lifespan than its ancestor springbok, Trotsbok has a reaches to maturity earlier than Springbok, and the time ewes carries its young lessens, where they mates in the middle of the dry seasons and are able to give birth in the beginning of the rain season. Just like Springbok, they are usually have more than one mate, which allows more new Trotsbok in less time. But like springbok, each female Trotsbok (also call ewes) can only give birth to one young, and in rare occasions, two.
Newborn Trotsbok are easy targets for the predators that evolves from eagles and Jackals when they are just few days old, which is why, the mother springbok hides the newborn in bushes or long grasses to avoid predators. They are like springboks, able to eat grass at 2 weeks old, but are faster to stop depending on its mother at 2 months old, where it reaches to maturity and able to reproduce new springbok earlier than springbok.
Environmental pressure
An enviromental pressure that might have cause this early maturity change from springbok to Trotsbok is because of its shorten lifespan. Living in extreme habitat that Trotsbok lives, it is hard to live long, so in order to keep its species, they have to start breeding earlier.
Structure
Hand Drawn Diagram 1 of Trotsbok
Claw-like Front Hooves (Structure 1) Trotsbok’s ancestor Springbok has its 4 hooves made from its 3rd and 4th toes fuse together, while Trotsbok, like it’s ancestor, has similar hooves on its back legs, but the hooves on its front legs are claw-like hooves, similar to rabbit's claw use to dig, but made out of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th toes, which allows them to dig for roots easier and faster, but doesn’t affect the Trotsbok speed in running.
Environmental pressure
An environmental pressure that caused this change from springbok to Trotsbok might be because of the harsh environment. As 80% of Africa has change into a large dry plain, it is harder for Trotsbok to find food, and as herbivore, they eat not just grass and leaves, but also roots. And like springbok, Trotsbok digs for roots with their front legs, where there has changed into a claw-like hooves made by 2nd, 3rd and 4th toe.
Long legs (Structure 2)
Long legs Trotsbok, like its ancestor Springbok, is known for its incredible speed and ablitiy to jump a long distance, because of its 2 pairs of legs, Front and back legs. Trotsbok has legs even longer than its ancestor, Springbok, which gives them the power to run faster and jump further than its ancestor.With longer legs, the overall height of Trotsbok is 10 cm taller than springbok. Not only did the length of Trotsbok’s legs give them an advantage to run as fast as 110km/h and jump as far as 20m, it also gives the advantage to spot predictors at further distance than springbok, as they are now taller.
Environmental pressure An environmental pressure that might have caused springbok’s legs to evolve longer into Trotsbok’s legs are the competitive between the major predictors are lion, Hyena, cheetahs and others that have evolved and are, too, able to run fast. As the rule “survival of the fittest”, the animal that can run fastest are more likely to survive, and as springbok evolve, the longer the legs, the faster they can run away from its predictors, allowing them to past the gene down to the next generation.
Physiological
Since Trotsbok lives in a place with little to no water, its body's kidney and intestines have evolve and are better more efficient at storing water than a springbok. Trotsbok stores water like a camel, where its intestines squeese all the water from the grass or leaves that the Trotsbok eats.
Environmental Pressure
Environmental pressure that might caused the kidneys and intestine of Trotsbok to envolve into more efficient at storing water might be because Trotsbok's living habitat is an open area which is even drier than what Springbok used to live in, and since there already isn't alot of water, to prevent dehydration, the ones that can preserve water can live longer, and past its gene down the generation.
Trotsbok (Antidorcas Glorior)
Trotsbok, or Antidorcas Glorior (in latin), is a possible future animal that evolves from Springbok. The word Trots is
Afrikaans, meaning proud, while bok means antelope or goat.
In around 250 million years later, planet Earth will have change into a very different place to the ones we know, as all the continents drifts back together and form one big landmass, known as the Pangaea Ultima. And due to global warming and the deforestation caused by humans in the past, it leads to something like desertification in what used to be Africa, but instead of it being desert, it turns into dry plain, where only 20% left of the remaining Africa are forest, and the rest of them have turn into dry plains.
Troksbok prefers lives in a habitat similar to its ancestor Springbok, but the area distribution has changed from Springbok to
Troksbok , where
Troksbok are able to spread further and further as what used to be Africa has now turn into a dry plain, to find food as they continue to spread. And the temperture of the whole world has increased by 5 degrees, which would not be a big problem for Trotsbok as they only have a thin coat of short fur.
Just like its ancestor Springbok, Trotsbok perfers to live at places with short grass and dry open land where it allows them to spot predators in long distances and move around and run away easily, which is why Short grass savannah, dry river beds and other similar places are where the Trotsbok prefers to live. Not that there is alot, but most Trotsbok avoids long grass, since it disable their abilities to see predators from a distance and slow down their ability to run fast. But like its ancestors, the female Trotsbok hides the first few days of newborns in long grass to avoid predators.
Just as springbok has evolved into Troksbok , its predictors have too. The predictors might be animals evolve from lion, leopard and others. And since Africa has turn into a large plain, it gives advantage to both Troksbok and its predictors, as Troksbok will be able to spot predictors from far and run away quickly before it can catch up, and predictors runs faster than Troksbok in short distance would be able to run as fast as it can without bumping into something.
Adaptations
Behavioural
Pronking (Behavioural 1)
Just like its ancestor, springbok, Trotsbok are also known for its jump that’s similar to its ancestor. But Trotsbok’s Pronk is different from Springbok’s, as springbok has its head down when it pronks, while Trotsbok has its head up high as it pronks. And unlike springbok, when Trotsbok pronks, its hooves doesn’t comes together, but instead, it does an action like galloping of a horse. For its head up and galloping action during its pronk, Trotsbok was named with the word Trots meaning proud, as it seems proud as it pronks. Trotsbok uses its pronks just like Springbok, to warn its herd when it spots an predictor, which then, the whole herd runs together, or to attract a mate.
Environment Pressure
An environmental pressure that might have caused this behavioural adaptions is the habitat and the predictors, as keeping the head up as it pronks, the Trotsbok can see and keep an eye on where its predictors has gone, and the galloping action helps to frighten its predictors away.
Breeding (Behavioural 2)
With shorter lifespan than its ancestor springbok, Trotsbok has a reaches to maturity earlier than Springbok, and the time ewes carries its young lessens, where they mates in the middle of the dry seasons and are able to give birth in the beginning of the rain season. Just like Springbok, they are usually have more than one mate, which allows more new Trotsbok in less time. But like springbok, each female Trotsbok (also call ewes) can only give birth to one young, and in rare occasions, two.
Newborn Trotsbok are easy targets for the predators that evolves from eagles and Jackals when they are just few days old, which is why, the mother springbok hides the newborn in bushes or long grasses to avoid predators. They are like springboks, able to eat grass at 2 weeks old, but are faster to stop depending on its mother at 2 months old, where it reaches to maturity and able to reproduce new springbok earlier than springbok.
Environmental pressure
An enviromental pressure that might have cause this early maturity change from springbok to Trotsbok is because of its shorten lifespan. Living in extreme habitat that Trotsbok lives, it is hard to live long, so in order to keep its species, they have to start breeding earlier.
Structure
Claw-like Front Hooves (Structure 1)
Trotsbok’s ancestor Springbok has its 4 hooves made from its 3rd and 4th toes fuse together, while Trotsbok, like it’s ancestor, has similar hooves on its back legs, but the hooves on its front legs are claw-like hooves, similar to rabbit's claw use to dig, but made out of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th toes, which allows them to dig for roots easier and faster, but doesn’t affect the Trotsbok speed in running.
Environmental pressure
An environmental pressure that caused this change from springbok to Trotsbok might be because of the harsh environment. As 80% of Africa has change into a large dry plain, it is harder for Trotsbok to find food, and as herbivore, they eat not just grass and leaves, but also roots. And like springbok, Trotsbok digs for roots with their front legs, where there has changed into a claw-like hooves made by 2nd, 3rd and 4th toe.
Long legs (Structure 2)
Long legs
Trotsbok, like its ancestor Springbok, is known for its incredible speed and ablitiy to jump a long distance, because of its 2 pairs of legs, Front and back legs. Trotsbok has legs even longer than its ancestor, Springbok, which gives them the power to run faster and jump further than its ancestor.With longer legs, the overall height of Trotsbok is 10 cm taller than springbok. Not only did the length of Trotsbok’s legs give them an advantage to run as fast as 110km/h and jump as far as 20m, it also gives the advantage to spot predictors at further distance than springbok, as they are now taller.
Environmental pressure
An environmental pressure that might have caused springbok’s legs to evolve longer into Trotsbok’s legs are the competitive between the major predictors are lion, Hyena, cheetahs and others that have evolved and are, too, able to run fast. As the rule “survival of the fittest”, the animal that can run fastest are more likely to survive, and as springbok evolve, the longer the legs, the faster they can run away from its predictors, allowing them to past the gene down to the next generation.
Physiological
Since Trotsbok lives in a place with little to no water, its body's kidney and intestines have evolve and are better more efficient at storing water than a springbok. Trotsbok stores water like a camel, where its intestines squeese all the water from the grass or leaves that the Trotsbok eats.
Environmental Pressure
Environmental pressure that might caused the kidneys and intestine of Trotsbok to envolve into more efficient at storing water might be because Trotsbok's living habitat is an open area which is even drier than what Springbok used to live in, and since there already isn't alot of water, to prevent dehydration, the ones that can preserve water can live longer, and past its gene down the generation.
Bibliography
Wikipedia. (2010). Pangaea Ultima. Retrieved from July 22, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangaea_Ultima
Wikipedia. (2010). Camel. Retrieved from July 22, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camel
Wikipedia. (2010). Rabbit. Retrieved from July 22, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit
Camel Pictures and Fact. (2007). The Camel. Retrieved from July 22, 2010, from http://fohn.net/camel-pictures-facts/